WASHINGTON -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- State Department officials should serve where they are needed -- even in war-torn Iraq , U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Friday .

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says that `` people need to serve where they are needed . ''

Rice was responding to foreign service officers ' objections to the possibility of `` directed assignments '' in Iraq . The issue has caused an uproar in the State Department , resulting in a contentious town hall-style meeting Wednesday .

The new directives would be needed if enough qualified foreign service officers do n't step forward to fill open positions at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad .

If the State Department enforces directed assignments , it will be the first time since the Vietnam War era .

One official called the order to serve in Iraq `` a potential death sentence '' during the town meeting .

The State Department already has begun notifying about 200 people considered prime candidates . Those chosen will be given 10 days to respond , according to last week 's announcement . Unless they have a valid medical reason to refuse , those who decline could face dismissal , it said .

Wednesday 's heated meeting was replayed on an internal State Department television channel in Washington several times and talked about widely .

Some at the hourlong meeting questioned why they were not told of the policy change directly , learning about it instead from news organizations last week . Watch the diplomats exchange angry words ''

`` I just have no respect for the whole process because you 've demonstrated a lack of respect for your own colleagues , '' said foreign service officer Jack Croddy .

`` Thank you for that comment . It 's full of inaccuracies , but that 's OK , '' Harry Thomas Jr. , director general of the foreign service , shot back .

Others pointed out the risks of such assignments , considering the dangers of a war zone , lack of security and regular rocket attacks on U.S. personnel .

Rice , who did not attend the meeting , tried to calm things down Friday by underscoring the State Department 's attempts to do `` everything that we can to try and protect our diplomats . ''

However , she said , `` This is one of the highest priority tasks of the United States , and we 're going to meet our obligations . ''

Speaking to reporters en route to Turkey and the Mideast , she said , `` I do n't know if we will have direct assignments or not , but we are one foreign service , and people need to serve where they are needed . ''

The secretary sent out a cable to State Department employees worldwide encouraging them to serve in Iraq .

`` This year -LSB- U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker -RSB- has identified the need for additional positions to more effectively accomplish our mission in Iraq , '' Rice said in the cable .

Rice said she has decided to go forward with the identification of officers to serve , `` should it prove necessary to direct assignments . ''

`` Should others step forward , as some already have , we will fill these new jobs as we have before -- with volunteers . However , regardless of how the jobs may be filled , they must be filled , '' she said .

Rice earlier said reports that the State Department was finding it hard to coax foreign service employees into Iraq `` could n't be further from the truth . ''

The assignments are new positions . Fifteen people have stepped forward to volunteer for Iraq service since the new policy was announced October 26 , department spokesman Sean McCormack said .

McCormack rejected comments by Rep. Duncan Hunter , R-California , that State Department employees are `` nervous Nellies '' and that wounded U.S. military veterans should be asked to fill the Iraq vacancies .

McCormack said until now the State Department has been successful in filling jobs in Iraq with volunteers . Since 2003 , more than 1,500 personnel have volunteered to go to Iraq , he said . But with the expansion of the staff in Iraq this year , 58 spots were left open .

`` They are serving in dangerous and challenging places , '' he said . `` We have a lot of brave people who are stepping up to the plate in Anbar and Basra and Baghdad and Kabul and a lot of other places that are not necessarily in the headlines . ''

State Department employees have been killed in Iraq , but McCormack could not say how many . E-mail to a friend

CNN 's Zain Verjee and Charley Keyes contributed to this report .

@highlight

Condoleezza Rice responds to foreign service officers ' objections on Iraq duty

@highlight

`` Directed assignments '' will be enforced if enough officers do n't volunteer in Iraq

@highlight

Rice : Department doing `` everything that we can to try and protect our diplomats ''

@highlight

One official calls order to serve in Iraq `` a potential death sentence ''